Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PROPERTY RIGHTS
RELEVANT FOR THE
TOY INDUSTRY
Written for Toy Industries of Europe (TIE) by:
De Gier | Stam & Attorneys
Lucasbolwerk 6
3512 EG Utrecht
+31 30 230 30 10
evertvangelderen@degierstam.nl
www.degierstam.nl May 2012
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 2
THE NAME OF THE PRODUCT: TRADEMARK RIGHTS 4
What can be protected by trademark rights? 4
What are the requirements for a trademark? 5
How are trademarks acquired? 5
What is the duration of trademark protection? 7
Who is the right holder of a trademark? 7
What can you do with a trademark? 7
Costs for registration 8
Overview of trademark rights 9
THE SHAPE OF THE PRODUCT AND TEXT: COPYRIGHT 10
What can be protected by copyrights? 10
What are the requirements for copyright? 11
How are copyrights acquired? 11
What is the duration of copyright protection? 12
Who is the right holder of the copyrights? 12
What can you do with copyrights? 13
Overview of copyright protection 14
THE SHAPE OF THE PRODUCT PART TWO: DESIGN RIGHTS 15
What can be protected by design rights? 15
What are the requirements for design rights? 16
How are design rights acquired? 16
What is the duration of protection of a design right? 17
Who is the right holder of a design right? 18
What can you do with design rights? 18
Costs for registration 19
Overview of design rights 20
THE TECHNICAL FUNCTION OF THE PRODUCT: PATENT RIGHTS 21
What can be protected by a patent? 21
What are the requirements for patent rights? 21
How are patent rights acquired? 22
What is the duration of patent protection? 22
Who is the right holder of a patent? 23
What can you do with patent rights? 23
Costs for protection 24
Overview of patent protection 25
UNFAIR COMPETITION 26
Unfair competition and passing off 26
BORDER MEASURES 27
What are border measures? 27
How does the system of border measures work? 27
Costs for the application 28
CONCLUSION 29
USEFUL LINKS 31
4 Intellectual property rights relevant for the toy industry
INTRODUCTION
Intellectual property rights (often called IP As many toys only have a short market life,
rights) are very important to the toy industry. enforceable and harmonised legislation and
For an innovative industry in which quick and cheap measures are needed in
approximately 60% of toys on the market order to ensure that toy companies continue
each year are newly developed products, IP to invest in innovative products. In this regard,
rights are of utmost importance as they TIE is engaged in several discussions at the
enable companies to protect their inventions European level and supports the work of the
and to continue investing in innovation, and European Union (EU) on strengthening the
to act against companies that use their legal framework of IP rights.
creative designs without permission.
This brochure provides an overview of
Counterfeit toys can pose safety problems as the IP rights relevant for toy companies. For
they do not necessarily comply with the each right the most important aspects are
relevant safety standards. Reputable explained. How are these rights obtained? Do
companies take these responsibilities very they exist automatically or do they have to be
seriously and are aware that putting registered? And what are the requirements
substandard products on the market could for protection? What are the costs, and how
damage their reputation. Companies protect long does the protection last? And, also very
their name in order to build a reputation. IP importantly: who owns the IP rights?
rights are often a companys biggest assets.
First of all, trademark rights are discussed.
IP rights promote fair competition as Trademark rights protect for example the
companies can legally be forced to play by name or the logo of a toy product. Copyright
the rules. They can be used to prevent free- and design rights are also explained. These
riding on the efforts of other company. rights can ensure that the design of the toy is
protected, and that copies of that design can
be taken off the market. Further, the most
important aspects of patent rights will be
discussed. These rights protect inventions,
such as certain technical aspects of a toy.
Introduction 5
Apart from these IP rights, there are other There are also European rules that provide
means that toy manufacturers can use by means to stop infringers. For instance,
way of protection. For instance, some European law enables local customs to stop
national laws prohibit pirated/copied products infringing toys at the European borders, also
based on unfair competition. on the specific request of an IP right owner.
Since such means are both effective and
cost-efficient, these border measures shall
be explained in this brochure as well.
In order to make the law a bit less abstract, an example will be used to describe the area
of law discussed. Please meet Theo the Train.
Theo the Train is a brightly coloured electric model train. Theo the Train is a highly
innovative train. Not only because it does not look like any other model train (or real train
for that matter) that was designed in the past, but also because it makes use of some
clever technologies that make it run very smoothly on its railway.
Theo the Train is the pride of a toy company called Trainmania. It wishes to protect
Theo as best as possible. Every aspect of the train must be covered, in order to prevent
competitors from making counterfeit trains, under similar names. Can Trainmania protect
its train? What rights can it use?
THE NAME OF
THE PRODUCT:
TRADEMARK RIGHTS
The name of the product: Trademark rights 7
Trainmania designed Theo the Train and it is now ready to be put on the market. Before
Trainmania does that, it would like to protect Theo the Train as much as possible. First of
all, it will take a look at the name Theo the Train and the logo that was designed. Trainmania
would like to prevent another company from selling similar or identical products with the
same or a similar name, such as Theo the Train or Theo the Plane.
Trademark rights can help to do this. However, trademarks are about much more than just
protecting a name. They are also about building a brand and keeping it strong, in order to
generate revenue for years to come.
In order to find out if trademark rights can be of any help, this right will be further explained.
If protection in several national countries is oppose the registration of a sign if they have
needed, the trademark can be registered by not registered the sign as a trademark
using the international registration themselves, but have been using it in order to
procedure, which is offered by the World distinguish goods or services. Once a sign is
Intellectual Property Center (WIPO). In this registered as a trademark, right holders also
procedure, a selection of countries can be can take steps to annul the trademark.
made for trademark protection.
The person or company that registers the Please note that even if one has registered a
trademark and whose name is displayed in trademark, there is no absolute right granted
the register is the owner of the rights. Once to use this name for all products, only the
the trademark Theo the Train is registered, classes of products or services it is registered
the registration will show the owner of the for. The same name can be used by a third
trademark: Trainmania. party for different products or services, as
long as there is no risk of confusion or no
Please note that special attention is needed unfair advantage is taken of a well-known
when a company has franchisors or similar mark. For example, in the Netherlands
distributors. In principle, they can register the name Jumbo is used by a producer of
trademarks as well. A distributor could puzzles and board games as well as by a
register Theo the Train if Trainmania did not chain of supermarkets. There are 45 different
do so. Once the distributor has registered the classes for products and services. Class 28 is
trademark, the distributor will be the owner. particularly important as it covers toys and
As long as there is a commercial relationship, games.
this will not be a problem. It might be a
problem when the relationship with Trainmania In the event of an infringement, one can
ends. demand that the infringing party stops using
the infringing sign. Further to that, a judge
It is therefore advisable to make an agreement can oblige the infringer to recall the products
with distributors about who can register with the infringing sign. The infringer may
trademarks and under which conditions, for have to hold the right holder liable and pay
example that the trademark has to be either the lost profits of the right holder or
transferred if the collaboration ends. the profits that were made by the infringer
because of the infringement.
The name of the product: Trademark rights 11
Normally, prices vary between about 200 for The number of classes for which the
national trademark registrations and 1,500 trademark is registered influences the costs.
for a European trademark. The standard price for the trademark
registration includes the registration for three
The costs depend on a number of things. classes. One has to pay for adding additional
First of all, the area for which protection is classes to the trademark registration.
sought can influence the costs. A national However, registering an extra class is cheaper
trademark is in general cheaper than a than registering a completely new trademark.
Community trademark. However, for about To give an indication, the costs for registering
1,500 a Community trademark covers 27 an extra class for a CTM are about 150.
countries and is therefore much cheaper than
27 national registrations. Most trademark offices allow trademark
applications to be filed electronically. This is
Besides that, it is important to decide for generally cheaper than a paper application.
what products and/or services the trademark
is registered. A trademark registration does It is possible to apply for a trademark
not automatically cover all types of products yourself, but there are also companies that
or services. In trademark law, products and are specialised in trademark registrations
services are divided into several categories, (trademark agents). They can help with the
such as toys, stationary, etc. These categories research for already registered rights, drafting
are called classes. a registration and fulfilling all formalities.
Now Trainmania has only protected the name and the logo of Theo the Train. Hard work is
put into inventing an intriguing story of Theo the Train and giving the toy an appealing ap-
pearance, in order for consumers to purchase it. Also, a manual is drafted and packaging
is designed. In order to prevent others from coming up with an identical or similar toy de-
sign or copying the manual or the packaging, the company needs to take a look at copy-
right protection.
board, the shape of the spaces or the pawns, 3 Not mere trend or style
the theme that is used and the particular rules
of the game (such as the rules for having to A certain trend or style cannot be protected
skip turns) can all add up to copyright either. If a company for instance makes trains
protection. in bright colours, because that is the new
trend, it cannot prevent a company from
In Denmark, such concepts would typically making different-looking trains that are
be protected by the Danish Act on Good coloured brightly as well.
Marketing Practice, instead of copyright.
2 S
hape not necessary to In most European countries, copyright can
obtain technical effect also be acquired by transfer from another
party. Please note that with respect to the
Further to that, if a shape is necessary to transfer of copyrights, national rules often
obtain a certain technical effect, such as the prescribe certain formalities. For instance,
fact that wheels are put under Theo the Train, some national laws require that a contract is
it is excluded from copyright protection. drafted and is signed by both parties. In this
contract, it must be described in detail what
copyrights, to what (aspects of) toys, are
transferred.
The shape of the product and text: copyright 15
It is therefore advisable for companies to describe in detail what the scope of work of their
employees is, for example in a labour contract, and include a contractual arrangement
about the copyrights. Also, if it concerns a special task for the employee that is not part of
his normal job, the employer can confirm in writing that he has asked the employee to do
this, for instance by sending him an email.
WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH First of all, most countries have authorities
COPYRIGHTS? that can put an official date stamp on a
document, such as tax authorities.
If someone brings a product on the market
that looks like Theo the Train, he can, in Also, one can ask a civil notary to declare
principle, be stopped from exploiting that that he saw the work, or a whole bundle of
product, particularly if the product is a copy of works, on a certain date.
Theo the Train.
Further to that, there are online services
An important question is whether it is possible that you can upload your work to and that
that the other party would have created the provide a document of proof. These services
work if he had no prior knowledge of the are sometimes offered by national
original work. intellectual property bureaus.
Unfortunately, copyright does not give any In case of an infringement, one can demand
protection if a third party creates a work that that the infringing party stops exploiting the
looks like the original work, but was created infringing work. Further to that, a judge can
independently, that is, without any previous oblige the infringer to recall the product.
knowledge of the first work. Besides that, the infringer probably needs to
hold the right holder responsible and needs
In order to prove that someone copied to pay either the lost profits of the right
your work, it is important that one can prove holder or the profits that were made by the
that the original work already existed before infringer because of the infringement.
the product of the third party was brought to
the market. As said before, there is no
copyright register in Europe. There are
however several other methods to prove that
a toy already existed on a certain date.
The shape of the product and text: copyright 17
The work is creative: it is not copied from another work. Extremely simple
What are the
forms and texts are excluded. So are shapes that are necessary to obtain
requirements?
a technical result and styles.
In most countries the creator, unless the work was created as a part of
Who owns his job. In that case, the employer is the copyright owner. In some
the rights? countries (such as Bulgaria), the employee in principle owns the
copyrights.
How long
70 years after the death of the (longest living) creator (or in the UK only 25
do the rights
years after the date the article was first marketed if industrially exploited).
last?
What does
In principle, no costs are involved.
it cost?
What can you Act against third parties that exploit works with the same overall
do with it? impression.
18 Intellectual property rights relevant for the toy industry
We have taken a look at copyright protection as way to protect the shape of Theo the Train,
the manual and the packaging. There is another way to protect the design of Theo the
Train: design rights. With design rights, the two dimensional and three dimensional shape
of a product can be protected. Even the design of the manual or the packaging can be
protected by design rights. However, unlike copyright protection, only the outside
appearance is protected and not the text or content.
Designs can be stolen or copied by third parties. In order to prevent this as much as
possible, the rights to protect these designs will be explained in this chapter.
If there are no design registrations for a certain area outside of Europe, the right holder will
probably not be able to prevent the use by third parties of the design in that area. It is
therefore advisable to register the design in all countries where the company wishes to
market the toy. Within Europe, the design is automatically protected because of the
unregistered design rights. However, if a company plans to sell the toy for more than three
years, then it is wise to register the design for EU countries as well. As explained later, after
three years the unregistered Community design expires.
In Bulgaria, the employee and the external designer, the design right goes back to the
designer are in principle entitled to apply for creator (again, unless otherwise agreed
registration of the design, unless agreed between parties). Parties may also agree to a
otherwise between parties. When an mutual design right, i.e. the design right will
employer or an assignor fails to apply for belong both to the creator and the employer/
registration of the design right within 3 months assignor.
from receipt of notice from the employee or
Because of all these different rules, it is advisable to draft a contract with employees (for
instance a labour contract) and external designers or freelancers, in which it is explicitly
stated who is entitled to the design rights.
How is it
Either automatically or by registration.
acquired?
The model must be new, must have its own character, the shape should
What are the
not be necessary to obtain a technical effect and it should not be contrary
requirements?
to accepted principles of public morality.
The creator, unless the design was created as a part of his job. With
Who owns respect to freelance designers, rules vary nationally. In for instance
the rights? Bulgaria and Spain, the employee and external parties in principle own the
design rights.
How long Unregistered designs are protected for three years in case of a Community
do the rights unregistered design. UK unregistered designs are protected for 15 years
last? from the date the design was recorded or 10 years from the date the article
was first marketed. Registered designs are protected for a maximum of 25.
What can you With a registered design, one can act against parties that exploit a similar
do with it? design. Unregistered design rights give the right to act against third parties
that copied the original design.
24 Intellectual property rights relevant for the toy industry
THE TECHNICAL
FUNCTION OF
THE PRODUCT:
PATENT RIGHTS
The technical function of the product: patent rights 25
As mentioned previously, Theo the Train is a highly inventive train, made with advanced
technology. Trainmania would like to ensure that its company is the only company that
uses that technology. In all of the IP rights that were previously discussed, it was stated
that signs or shapes that are necessary to obtain a technical result, cannot be protected.
The field of inventions and technology is governed by patent law. The basic rules of patent
law are described in this chapter.
conduct electricity, or that has benefits over If protection is sought in more than one
the old system (for instance because it is country, regardless if the European or the
better adapted for contact with water), this international procedure is used, translations
could be patented. in the languages that are used by those
countries must be provided.
If this new method is very similar to the old
method and it is only one very obvious step At the moment, it is only possible to apply for
removed from that system, the invention is a European registration, in order to obtain
not deemed to be inventive. several national patents. However, the first
unitary European patents are expected to be
3 Industrial application granted in 2014. The unitary patent will be
valid in the 25 participating EU Member
Finally, the invention must be capable States. It will prevent businesses from having
of industrial application. This means that to register at every national patent office and
the invention can be used in one or from entering into litigation in every country in
more industries. This excludes inventions that the event of a dispute.
are purely aesthetic or inventions that are
impossible (such as a perpetuum mobile).
Toys will in principle pass this threshold. WHAT IS THE
DURATION OF PATENT
PROTECTION?
HOW ARE PATENT
RIGHTS ACQUIRED? A patent is valid for a maximum of 20 years
after registration.
For protection of the advanced technology
used for Theo the Train, Trainmania needs a
registration. Inventions have to be registered WHO IS THE RIGHT
for protection. HOLDER OF A PATENT?
If a company only plans to sell a toy in one After registration of the patent for Theo the
country, it can apply for a national patent. Train the registration will show who the owner
This patent gives protection in the country for of the patent is.
which it is registered for. Such an application
is registered at the national patent office. The inventor of Theo is in principle the
person who is entitled to register the patent.
To acquire patent rights in more than one
European country, the European registration Sometimes an invention is made by an
procedure can be used. Using this procedure, employee. In order to determine whether the
one can acquire the national patents of all EU employer or the employee is entitled to that
countries by filing only one application. This patent, it is important to know what parties
procedure is handled by the European Patent agreed upon in the labour contract. If it is
Office (EPO). agreed that any invention of the employee
shall belong to the employer, then the
For those who wish to register a patent for employer shall hold the rights to the invention.
specific foreign countries, the World Intellec-
tual Property Organization (WIPO) offers an Also, if the job description of the employee
international procedure. This procedure is states that he was hired to conduct technical
comparable to the European procedure. research or if this falls within the scope of his
The technical function of the product: patent rights 27
regular work, the employer will in principle entitled to the rights instead of the employer,
own the rights. This could, for instance, be even when the invention was made during
the case for someone working in the R&D work hours.
department. If the inventor used means that
were provided by the employer and/or skills If external inventors who do not have a
acquired from his work for the employer, labour contract with the producer of the toys
some national laws also arrange for the were contracted, then in most European
patent rights to fall to the employer. countries the patent rights will belong to
these external inventors. This is for instance
If it is not the job of the employee to invent different in Bulgaria and Spain: if the invention
things, no means of the employer or special was made as a result of a special assignment,
skills were used and it has not been agreed then the assignor will own the patent rights.
upon otherwise, then the employee will be
How is it
By registration.
acquired?
What are the The invention must be new, inventive and must be capable of
requirements? industrial application.
In most countries the inventor, unless the invention was made by an em-
ployee who was hired to do technical research or in whose labour contract
Who owns it is stated that the invention belongs to the employer. In that event, the
the rights? employer is entitled to the patent. In some countries, e.g. Bulgaria and
Spain, inventions made by an external designer as a result of a special as-
signment will belong to the assignor.
How long
do the rights For 20 years.
last?
Prevent third parties from using the patented invention in their products.
What can you The exploitation of these products can be stopped and the right holder can
do with it? demand damages or the profit that was made by the infringer. Further, a
recall can be conducted and the infringing products can be destroyed.
The technical function of the product: unfair competition 29
UNFAIR
COMPETITION
Even if Theo the Train was not (or no longer) First of all, it can be unlawful to cause
protected in a certain area in Europe, this consumers to think that the third party is
does not always mean that third parties are actually the producer of the genuine toys,
allowed to make identical toys. The rules with when he is not. If for instance a third party
respect to unfair competition are becoming registers a domain name that is almost
more and more important and can prohibit identical to that of the producer of Theo the
such behaviour. Train and states that he has been producing
Theo the Train for a long time, this could be
unlawful. As there is no business-to-business
UNFAIR COMPETITION protection in this area, it is very important that
AND PASSING OFF consumers are empowered to take action
against the manufacturer of the infringing toy.
It is not always possible to invoke IP rights However, this is not easy.
against the sale of (similar) toys by third
parties. Trainmania could for example have Further to that, it is not generally permitted to
chosen not to register the rights for Theo the allow consumers into thinking that there is an
Train in all European countries or the period of economic connection between the third
protection could have expired. Further to party and a toy manufacturer, such as a
that, sometimes actions of third parties do distribution or a franchise relationship, if there
not fall within the exact scope of protection of is in fact no such connection. If the third party
IP rights, but can still be damaging to the right thus takes advantage of the goodwill of the
holder. toy producer or if the toy producer has
suffered or is likely to suffer damage because
In those cases, unfair competition laws can of the misrepresentation, chances are the toy
nevertheless give toy producers the possibility producer can act against the third party and
to act against those parties. In the UK, unfair claim damages.
competition is known as passing off.
National law can also prevent the production
Unfair competition is governed by national of (almost) one-on-one copies of a certain
laws and thus may vary from country to design, if the third party could have chosen a
country. Still, it is possible to determine different design. This is often called parasitic
some common ground in the national case copying, slavish copying or knock-off.
law regarding unfair competition.
30 Intellectual property rights relevant for the toy industry
BORDER
MEASURES
As we all know, toys are often imported into The majority of infringing products originate in
Europe from abroad. A copy of Theo the Train China. 85% of all infringing articles were
could be made outside Europe and then be shipped from this country. Other countries
transported to Europe. Legislation also that were high on the list of countries of origin
makes it possible for Trainmania to stop the are India, Hong Kong, Moldova and Turkey.
copy of Theo the Train at the EUs borders
when it is imported.
HOW DOES THE SYSTEM
OF BORDER MEASURES
WHAT ARE BORDER WORK?
MEASURES?
Customs authorities can check for infringing
In 1994, the anti-piracy regulation first came products on their own initiative and contact
into force. This regulation has successfully the right holder when they suspect that a
allowed EU customs authorities to stop batch contains possible infringing products.
infringing products when they cross the However, it is also possible for right holders to
border. For example, in 2000, over 6,000 ask customs authorities to watch out for
cases of infringing products were registered. products that infringe on their rights. The right
In 2010, almost 80,000 shipments were holders of all of the IP rights that are described
stopped because they contained infringing in this brochure (i.e. trademarks, design
products. This amounts to more than 103 rights, copyrights and patents) can apply for
million infringing products. such border measures.
According to the latest figures (2010), 7% of If Trainmania wants to ask customs to watch
the infringing products consisted of toys and out for copies of Theo the Train it needs to fill
games (including electronic games consoles). in a form. This must include the contact
In total about 7.5 million infringing toys details of Trainmania and explain the rights to
were discovered. The retail value of the which Theo the Train is entitled. It is possible
original goods would have been more than to add further information with respect to the
30 million Euros. These figures indicate that rights, such as photos of Theo the Train and
the border measures are of growing explanations about how genuine Theo the
importance for the toy industry. Trains can be distinguished from the infringing
ones.
32 Intellectual property rights relevant for the toy industry
It is also possible to indicate what companies However, if Trainmania is of the opinion that
are likely to infringe Trainmanias rights, for the products are infringing, the holder of the
example because they have infringed on its goods is contacted. If the holder of the goods
rights in the past. does not respond, or if he admits that the
products are not original, the products are
If Trainmania only holds national rights, it destroyed. This happens in about 75% of all
needs to lodge the form for custom cases.
surveillance with the designated department
of the national customs authorities. If the holder of the goods believes that the
Alternatively, if a Community trademark or a products are not infringing, a court case can
Community design right is registered, a be initiated. Also, an out-of-court settlement
Community application can be lodged. In that can be reached between the right holder and
event, the authorities of all Member States will the holder of the goods.
look out for infringing products.
A clear difference has to be made for goods
In the event the customs authorities find in transit. Goods are considered in transit
products that they assume to be a copy of if they do not enter the European Union or if it
Theo the Train, Trainmania will be contacted. is not possible to prove that they are meant to
The right holder normally has ten working be sold on the European market. If that is the
days to respond. This term can be extended case, these goods cannot be stopped at the
by another ten working days (three working border, even if they would infringe on (local) IP
days when it concerns perishable goods, rights.
with no option for extension). If it is of the
opinion that the products do not infringe on
its rights, or if Trainmania does not respond at COSTS FOR THE
all, the products are further transported to the APPLICATION
addressee.
No administrative costs are charged by the
customs authorities for an application.
Customs authorities can sometimes request
a bank guarantee for costs that have to be
made or because of administrative rules.
It is highly recommended to lodge applications for actions and to engage with customs
officers. It is known that customs officers will have a higher degree of motivation protecting
those brands which are cooperative compared to those that only rely on ex-officio procedures.
Conclusion 33
CONCLUSION
It is a great challenge for the toy industry to IP rights can help companies working in the
protect its creative works and inventions from toy industry to protect their investments and
being copied by third parties. The production goodwill as much as possible by taking action
and exploitation of counterfeit toys is a global against such infringement. In this brochure,
problem. The figures provided by the EU the most important IP rights that can help in
customs authorities show that infringement doing so are explained. In the comparison
takes place on a very large scale. This not table below, an overview is given of all these
only poses serious risks for the health of IP rights, as well as the features they cover:
children, but is also detrimental to the growth
and innovation in the toy sector.
Protected The name or the The design of Designs, i.e. the Inventions, e.g.
features logo of the toy, the toy (other external appear- discoveries that
the name or the than in the UK) ance of toys, make certain
logo of the com- and other crea- such as lines, things easier or
pany (if they are tive works, such contours, col- more efficient.
used to distin- as texts, col- ours and
guish the prod- ours, shapes shapes. In the
ucts of that and drawings. UK, surface
company from decoration is
those of other only protected if
companies). the design is
registered.
34 Intellectual property rights relevant for the toy industry
Before bringing a toy on the market or Do I need to make agreements with third
showing it to the public, it is wise to consider parties that produce the toy, for instance if
on how one can protect the toy as much as they are situated outside Europe, to prevent
possible. A company should ask the following them from copying it?
questions:
Has everything been covered with respect
Have agreements been made with all the to distributors or franchisors regarding the
parties that were involved in the creation of use of IP rights? Is it clear what actions such
the toy, such as employees or freelance parties will take action against infringers that
designers? Is it clear who owns all IP rights are active on their market?
with respect to the toy?
TIE remains very active in the area of IP
Are there rights that need to be registered, protection. TIE works with important
such as patent rights, design rights and stakeholders to fight against counterfeiting
trademark rights? and has been successful in campaigning for a
high level of IP protection. The EUs legal
And if so, where do I need to register these framework and its enforcement must be
rights? Locally or globally? improved to fight against counterfeits and
other ways of contravening IP rights. The fight
Is there a certain date before which the against counterfeiting and piracy needs to
application form for registration needs to be become a political priority in the EU. TIE will
received by the designated office? continue to build upon the current momentum
that is gathering around this issue to create
How can I prove that the toy was already harmonised EU legislation to outlaw these
designed on a certain date? Did I save unfair practices.
drawings, sketches and test models?
Useful links 35
USEFUL
LINKS
European Anti-Counterfeiting Network International Trademark Association (INTA):
- REACT: www.inta.org/Advocacy/Pages/
www.react.org/ Anticounterfeiting.aspx
This brochure does not constitute legal advice and is provided for general information purposes only,
without giving any warranty of any kind, either express or implied. De Gier | Stam & Attorneys and TIE shall
not be liable for any editorial, typographical or other errors or omissions within the information in this
brochure. In case of any questions, please contact our offices.
Toy Industries of Europe (TIE) is the trade association for the European toy industry, which
comprises over 25% of the total world toy market. Members of TIE include companies as
well as national associations from Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain,
Sweden, the UK and the Nordic region.
TIE commissioned De Gier | Stam & Attorneys to draft this brochure about intellectual property
rights relevant for the toy industry.